Yes, starting this entry with an exclamation point is in fact an indication that today has been a good day. The first one in such a long time, too. Why am I so happy? Well, about 2 weeks ago I was at my lightest point in my prep so far at about 121.4. And I remember how excited I was because I was well on track to hit my goal of 120 by the end of January. Little did I know my Celiac would not be allowing anything of the sort, and 36hours later I was suddenly 124.8lbs. Lovely, right? And my weight stayed there for almost 2 weeks up until this morning when all of the sudden it was 123.0.. [You can cue the balloons and confetti now]
While I'm not back at the low I was at, it's finally moving. And it's not just the weight, for most of the time my weight was up there my symptoms were causing me to quite literally look 6months pregnant. I felt like I had swallowed a 5lb dumbbell, and my waist expanded a good 3". I was looking and feeling less and less like someone 16 weeks out from a show. For the last 2 weeks all my symptoms completely took the focus off my prep, and although I never strayed on the diet (of course), my workouts and sleep suffered, which certainly didn't help the scale any.
Regardless of what my weight does over the next 2, 4, even 8 weeks, it's really not an indication of my progress. See, Celiac is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body attacks itself. In this case, it reacts any time gluten is present in my digestive system and this slowly kills off the Villi - the little hair-like extensions in your small intestine that are responsible for absorbing nutrients. Seeing as I have had Celiac for 3-5 years, it's going to be some time (anywhere from 3-12months) before I am completely back to capacity. And because for the last 3-5 years my Villi have been killed off, it's going to take time for them to grow back and function correctly. Keep in mind your small intestine is about 23 feet long, and it's surface area is similar to that of a football field. As it heals, the great news is that my body will be more and more efficient, I'll be digesting most and eventually all the food I'm eating, instead of just some, and finally get the results I should have years ago.
The truly daunting task ahead of me is being vigilant about everything that I put in or on my body. I heard a lovely little fact today that people with Celiac can illicit a response from their digestive system from just a 1/8 Teaspoon of gluten.. awesome.. And i know some people are thinking 'Hey dummy, just stop eating bread!' But it's not that simple. It's not just the obvious things I have to avoid, gluten byproducts are in ketchup, salad dressings, ice cream, most fast food, most restaurant food, sausage and hamburgers (the patty itself), spaghetti sauce... The list is longer than I'll make you read, but you get the point. But thankfully we live in the age of technology, and I have a little help in the form of my iPhone.
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| Say hello to my little friend... |
I got my cheap@$$ to actually pay for an iPhone app for the first time in 4 years. And it's already paid for itself in the first 3 days.I don't have to feel limited to items automatically filed in the already limited 'Gluten-Free' area of the store, or the few companies that take the time to label their products as such. It lists literally 1000's of possible ingredients, so for the many options out there I may be unsure of, I can quickly lookup each ingredient, or in many cases the exact brand and item, and know with 100% certainty if I'm allowed... Needless to say, my life took a turnaround with the discovery of this app. And I'm sure come the off-season this fall it'll come in handy because I am DETERMINED to continue baking like a fiend even if it means some restrictions:)
"Intensity is Everything"
Katie Wilson
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